This invention relates to a drum handling attachment for a forklift truck, and more particularly to such a drum handling attachment including adjustable gripping arms.
Drum handling attachments for forklift trucks having grip arms for handling one or more drums are well known in the art.
The following U.S. Pat. Nos. disclose drum hanlding attachments in which the grip arms are laterally adjustable:
2,582,663; Weiss, Jan. 15, 1952; PA1 2,795,347; Schenkelberger, June 11, 1957; PA1 3,172,693; Hansen, Mar. 9, 1965; PA1 3,319,815; Vik, May 16, 1967; PA1 3,410,431; Vik, Nov. 12, 1968; PA1 3,438,669; Vik, Apr. 15, 1969; PA1 3,971,485; Hoppey, July 27, 1976. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 2,497,118; Ferrario et al, Feb. 14, 1950; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 2,842,275; Kughler, July 8, 1958; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 2,948,428; Kughler, Aug. 9, 1960.
Furthermore, drum handling attachments for forklift trucks are known which include a transverse fixed shaft about which the gripping arms are independently vertically pivoted in order to adjust the arms laterally for accommodating drums of different sizes. However, this independent pivotal movement of the gripping arms permits the arms to grip a drum at varying vertical angles, that is the gripping arms are not maintained in the same horizontal plane while they are gripping the drum, which is an unsafe procedure for handling drums.
The following U.S. patents disclose drum handling devices in which the gripping arms are hinged for movement about verical axes and also for simultaneous movement about horizontal axes, but in which the gripping arms are not laterally adjustable:
The above cited Hansen patent 3,172,693 also discloses the utilization of stops for locating laterally the laterally adjustable gripping arms.